Disorders
by lildevchick
Summary: From the outside looking in, one could easily assume that we are nothing like humans. But, our outward appearances aside, we actually hold a lot in common with them, from our tastes in food right down to our mental disorders. A character study.


**Author's Note:** I own nothing. None of the turtles _officially_ have any of the conditions I've mentioned here, but as someone who suffers from her own disorders, I'd say it's safe to assume that they have their own, as well. xD

Oh, and P.S. This is the first fanfiction I've written in a looooooooong time and it's the first I've written for TMNT. So please try and be nice? ^__^

This is told in Donnie's POV.

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***Disorders***

From the outside looking in, one could easily assume that we are nothing like humans. But, our outward appearances aside, we actually hold a lot in common with them, from our tastes in food right down to our mental disorders.

Between 65-85% of all Homo sapiens suffer from some form of a mental disorder. And roughly 100% of all self-aware, intelligent turtles, suffer the same. Now, don't misunderstand; I in no way mean that my brothers or I suffer from learning disabilities, though those do classify as mental disorders. No, what I mean to say is that we suffer from the same disorders that plague quite a large percentage of people.

For instance, even to the untrained eye, Mikey clearly has ADHD, which stands for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. There has been large debate since the 1970's over whether ADHD is even a real disorder, but one look at Mikey and it's immediately apparent that it's real. His inability to focus for long periods of time and the intense boredom that plagues him whenever he's unable to engage in something that interests him are a key behavior of ADHD. He fidgets in place and, for lack of a better phrase, _bounces off the walls_ just about every minute that he spends awake and is not riveted in place by a video game or comic book. Shell, even then every single move that he makes, every twitch, seems to be magnified tenfold; the level of energy he puts into his favorite activities is mind-boggling. It's nearly impossible to keep up with him and it's equally as difficult trying to hold his attention for longer than a nanosecond. But despite how annoying this child-like behavior can be, especially when I'm immersed in my latest project, it's also very endearing. It's a break in the monotony of our everyday lives and it reminds the rest of us that there is sunlight to be found, even in the dank underground of the sewers we call home.

Raph is another easy diagnosis. He has ODD, or Oppositional Defiant Disorder. What that means is that he's stubborn. It also means he's disobedient and hostile towards authority figures. Sounding familiar to anyone? His attitude towards Leo's leadership is nothing short of defiant and Raph goes out of his way to oppose our older brother at every possible turn. But though it may seem that Raph is jealous (and on some level he may be a little), he's really just unable to deal with authority all that well. When it comes to Splinter, Raph is definitely nowhere near as violent as he is with Leo, but he still goes out of his way to break rules that our sensei has set in place. It leads to all sorts of trouble within our family, but Raph wouldn't be Raph without it. He keeps us on our toes and, let's face it, when he's at Leo's throat, things are never dull.

Leo doesn't actually suffer from an obvious disorder, but if one observes carefully, they can tell that he does have some narcissistic tendencies. Leo's not obsessed with his appearance or anything quite like that, though most would assume that's what I meant. Narcissism is actually just the inflation of one's own ego, believing that they are better than others. And even though most people actually suffer from some very slight form of narcissism, Leo does just a little more so. He places himself above us, in regards to skill. That's not to say he looks down on us, exactly. He just sees himself as automatically being better in combat. He doesn't rub that in our faces, either, but it's apparent in the way he covers us in a fight or how he always feels that he needs to watch out for us, like we can't take care of ourselves when he's not around. And every so often, he slips, and he talks down to us, though we usually let it slide. It can be aggravating beyond belief, but we all know that he means well by his actions, even if Raph and Mikey occasionally give him shell because of it.

And what of myself? I'm another easy diagnosis. I have a mild case of OCD, or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. I'm not really all that bad; I don't have to repeat the same action over and over and over again because I feel compelled to do so. I suffer more from the obsession side of the disorder rather than the compulsive aspect of it. I become unhealthily obsessed with whatever project I find my attention currently drawn to, so much so that I might go days without sleep or food if it were not for my brothers forcibly hauling me off to rest up. I'm also a perfectionist, which is a part of being OCD. If something isn't perfect the first time around, I _have_ to do it again. If I fight the urge and try to move onto another task, then the desire to perfect the previous experiment will eat away at my mind until I eventually give in and retry later, anyway.

Rest assured that I'll never mention any of this talk of disorders to my brothers. Many view even the smallest mental problem to mean that they are less than acceptable; many find shame in their disorders, which is silly, because everyone has them and no amount of effort at hiding said problems will make that any less true. But it doesn't mean my pointing these things out won't hurt my siblings or make them feel any less judged. No, some things are better left simply observed and never discussed.


End file.
